Humans are relatively adaptable beings which is why we are thriving not dying out like other species! Horrendous disasters such as the recent Philippines typhoon, the Boxing Day Tsunami, the nuclear disaster in Japan, the major wars of our time, horrific famines see great suffering but also survival through adaptation. It turns out we possess a strong survival mechanism in our brains directly linked to our bodies, fight, flight, freeze, flop and friend (fffff)! In fact the survival part of our brain, which is primitive yet effective, is the first to develop in uetro starting at around 7 weeks. It regulates our breathing, digestive system, heart rate and temperature, along with the ‘fffff’ system which operates to preserve our life. If we have to dodge a falling object, jump out of the path of a speeding car, keep very still to avoid being seen, run for the hills from a predator, or get someone potentially threatening ‘onside’ we need this to happen fast. If a baby is scared, cold, hungry, lonely, or in any way overwhelmed this triggers their survival system and they cry to bring an adult to them to help them survive.All well and good but, if a baby is repeatedly scared and emotionally overwhelmed and they do not get their survival brain soothed so they can cope, they begin to develop a brain and bodily system which is on hyper alert and the World seems to be a scary place. Sadly, this NOT something they can ‘just grow out of’. Far from it as what neuroscience is showing us from all the recent findings is that such an early experience has a profound effect on the way in which a child’s brain forms and operates as the survival brain is on over drive and senses threat everywhere so works too hard, too often, for too long.Babies and young children systems are flooded with potent stress hormones which help in the event of needing the 5 fffff’s but are not good to have at high levels for too long. Imagine how you feel when you truly believe you have lost your wallet with all your cards and money in, you feel a bit faint, your brain is whirring, your heart racing, breathing is shallow, you may get the urge to empty your bowels or bladder, big uncomfortable stuff which hopefully only lasts for the usual 45 minute cycle for those who are not traumatised. Then stress hormone levels drop and you can think more clearly and resume your day fairly unscathed! What if you are 4, 9 or 15 years old though, how will you cope, especially as your repetitive early childhood trauma of living with domestic violence, unavailable or rough carers, chaos and unpredictability has left you traumatised?As I referred to at the start, humans are amazingly adaptable in order to survive, although not necessarily thrive. So a child’s system adapts to get whatever basic needs met it can and to live to the next moment, think soldier in a war zone kind of survival. In an abusive environment this will make sense but it is not something a child can just stop doing as their survival brain is in charge and has to do what it has learnt to keep them alive. The kinds of survival behaviours they commonly develop are: Regression

Presenting as helpless may have made carers frustrated, even angry and rough with them but will mean they sometimes had to touch a child who presented as unable to say get dressed or wipe their bottom or feed themselves – this can look like immaturity and ‘babyish’ behaviour in an 8 year old but it has previously served a purpose

Being held and touched kindly is a basic human need and tragically children in Romanian orphanages who were not, died. Almost ‘pathetically’ children often devise ways which can seem strange, given their age and previous capabilities, to get some physical contact, even if it’s unpleasant

Children often learn to survive by being ‘like a baby’ as they have either learnt that baby’s get more kindness and attention or have some inbuilt ‘memory’ of this - this can be negatively viewed as regression yet is often an expression of trust in carers as they feel safe enough post abuse to seek out kindness from them so it needs gentle handling and holding until the child is ready to move on

Imagine you had never experienced physical closeness and gentle touch but were driven to seek it out, that takes real courage. Dramatic reactions

When a child is in the ‘lost my wallet’ state most of the day, it’s like a pan boiling on the stove and the smallest extra heat causes it to boil over

The survival brain leaps into action at the slightest thing, an accidental shove from another child, a small scratch on the arm, a lost pencil, a ‘look’ from another child and the 5 fffff’s are triggered, for most children that’s flight but if cornered and unable to escape, or previously over used, it will be fight

Children may cry more readily and for much longer and louder as they do not have the ability to self soothe or to be soothed easily as their brain has not been exposed to this and is not wired that way so telling them to ‘calm down’ is of no use

They are feeling things as deeply as they seem to be at this point and are not just ‘attention seeking’

Disassociation

Disassociation or ‘zoning out’ is another way the brain and body copes with high levels of potentially toxic stress hormones for overly long periods

It can also be a learnt survival strategy, submit, switch off and wait for the frightening, painful, incomprehensible act to be over

This ability to switch off can look like defiance or non-compliance as a child may just stare ahead and not respond to requests from adults

Children cannot continuously cope with the muscle tension, nausea, thudding heart, racing thoughts so finding something to fixate on to soothe them can become a great coping strategy and again will look as if they are being non-compliant whereas they are escaping from their trauma the only way they know how.

How long until they do ‘get over it?’It’s a fair question as why is it so hard of traumatised children just learn to trust caring adults? If they were removed from the abuse and trauma as a baby or even directly after birth surely they should not be having these dramatic reactions?Going back to our survival part of our brain, this is not designed to be the dominant part of anyone’s brain as we also have an emotional memories part and a thinking, reasoning, socially able cognitive part which should mostly be ‘in charge’. All three areas are interlinked and share info back and forth all the time but mostly we need to think before we act and then we do better. However, if your start in life has made your survival brain ‘hyper alert’ then to manage this is like repeatedly trying to get a squirrel into a matchbox! Children need us to be calm, kind, to use rhythm, patience and to try to step into their world and emotional state and show empathy. Looking up ways of supporting traumatised children, pushing for appropriate training and most importantly being VERY aware of the extra toll on those working with and caring for traumatised children. With the right acceptance, kindness and support children can get a better chance at eventually being able to manage their reactive survival brain which has got them this far. Busy buzzing brainI have a busy buzzing brain It over reacts driving me and you insane It got me this far but now its just a pain Misfiring misinforming messing up

I have a busy buzzing brain Shaped by too much early stress and strain Now its a struggle to control it As it sees all movements as potential hits

I have a busy buzzing brain Precarious unpredictability is its game Harsh looks or words and it sends me in to toxic shame Fast-loading fear hurling me into fight flight freeze again

I have a busy buzzing brain Sudden moves distant sounds a frown a smell My brain finds its memory which it knows so well Flips out fast causing hurt confusion chaos to reign

I have a busy buzzing brain Understand it with me help ease my daily pain Deep breaths run fast run hard imagine what we can gain Working together we will master my busy buzzing brain By Jane Evans

What a great article. It's clear, descriptive and able to relate difficult behaviours to their causes. I wonder how permanent the neurological "settings" are? Is it possible to reset an adult who still functions on hypervigilance or dissociation?